Parachute pack



F. SMITH. PARACHUTE PACK. APPLICAIION FILED APR. 18. 1921.

Patented Jan. 17, 1922.

'2 SHttIS-SHEET I- [77162 for:

F. SMITH.

PARACHUTE PACK.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 18. 1921.

1,403,983. Patented Jan. 17, 1922.

2 SHhE I'S-SHEET 2- "UNITE-D sures PATENT OFF-ICE.

FL OYD SMITH, 01' SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOB 1'0 FLOYD AERIAL EQUIPMENT A CORPORATION 01 ILLINOIS.

ranncnurn not.

Application filed A ril 13, 1921. Serial no. 462,201.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known. that I, F noYu SMITH, a citizen of the United States, and resident of San Diego, San Diego County, California, and

temporarily residing at Chicago, county of Cook, State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Parachute Packs, and declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to a container for confining a parachute in a compact mass which may be carried on the back in the mannor of a knapsack and from which the parachute may be released instantly and with certainty when desired.

The present invention relates to the type of pack disclosed in my prior application Serial No. 293,047, filed April 28, 1919, and,

considered in one of its aspects, may be said to have for its object to improve the construction of the device disclosed in said application.

The various features of novelty whereby my invention is characterized will hereinafter be pointed out with particularity in the claims; but, for a full understanding of my invention and of its object and advantages, reference may be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a rear elevation of a completed closed packi embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of a fragment of the pack as it appears in Fig. 1, the protectingflap for one of the fastening devices being shown open;

Fig. 3 is a section on a somewhat larger scale than Fig. 1, taken approximately on I container from that shown in Fig. 5, the. closing flaps being omitted and a fragment line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a section through the protecting g ap taken approximately on line 44 of Fig. 5 is a plan view of the container itself with spread flaps; and

Fig. 6 is a view of the opposite side of the of the false back which forms a pocket, being broken away.

The container for the parachute is conventi'ently made out of a single sheet of flexible fabric comprisinga rectangular cen- I tral panel, 1, having slde flaps, 2 and 3,

and end flaps, 4 and 5. The end flap 4 isprovided wlth a tab, 6, having therein an eyelet 7; the flap 5 has a button or stud, 8,.-.

eyelets, 9, 10 and 11 being shown; and t e ha 3 has at the margin along the long free e ge an eyelet, 12, and buttons or studs, 13 and 14, distributed in a row. The buttons and eyelets are so arranged that when the flap 5 is folded inwardly, the flap 3 is then folded inwardly over the flap 5, the eyelet 12 slips over the stud or button, 8; then when the flap 2 is folded inwardly, the eyelet 9 also slips over the stud or button 8 while the eyelets 10 and 11 slip over the studs or buttons, 13 and 14, respectivel then when the flap 4 is folded inwardly the eyelet 7 slips over the stud or button 14. The studs or buttons are preferably made conical as in my aforesaid application, so that the eyelets will sli on and off easily.

When a pack is ma e up by folding the container around a parachute and the flaps are folded inwardly as heretofore explained, it is held closed by means of a series of pins, 15, 16 and 17, inserted through openlngs in the small ends of the buttons or portant that the holding pins do not become accidentally separated from the buttons or studs or be bent in such a way as to prevent their free withdrawal when the release cord is pulled. In fact, it is desirable that the entire fastening means be adequately protected against accidents. This may conveniently be accomplished by providing a suitable protective covering for the fastening devices, so constructed that it will not interfere with the making up of the ack or with the free movement of the re ease cord when the pack is to be openedin an emergency or for the purpose of making a descent. To this end I have secured to the long free edge of the flap 2 of the container an auxiliary flap, 19, the e elets 9, 10 and 11 being conveniently place along the inner edge of this auxiliary fia which is adapted to be folded upon itself a ong a longitudinal medial line, after the pack has been: made up, so as to overlie the buttons or studs and eyelets and the release cord. with its pins. The auxiliary flap is provided along its inner edge with a series of snap fastener elements as indicated at and along its outer edge with a series of complementary snap fastener elements, 21, so positioned that when the auxiliary flap is folded over the fastenings for the pack, the snap fastenerssecure it in this position. In order to make theprotective flap more effective I have inserted in the outer half thereof a stiff flat strip, 22, of metal, preferably-steel, so that when this auxiliary flap is in its closed position, the fast'enings for the pack are I securely guarded against damage or disarrangement through contact with external objects by means of a metal shield.

It is desirable that the shape of the pack be determined and maintained somewhat more definitely than would result from the use of fabric alone and I therefore. prefer to associate with the rectangular central panel of the container a wire frame, 23, which will maintain a definite rectangular contour in the pack. For the purpose of securing the frame in place, I stitch a false .back, 24, upon the central panel, securing it only at its edges so as to form a pocket. The false back may be stitched to the container along three of its edges and, after the frame has been inserted in the pocket. the fourth edge may be fastened. This [pocket may also be used to hold small extra parts such as threads or cords and to this end I have made a slit, 25, in the false back be- :tween the to and bottom thereof, this slit ,being closed. y means of a flap, 26, which may be fastened down by means of buttons, 27, or the like.

In the most approved type of construc tion at the present time it s customary to -provide the main parachute with a sinall pilot chute attached to the apex of the latter,

as disclosed in my prior application, the purpose being to permit the pilot chute to open instantly upon the opening of the pack and thus assist in quickly straightening out the main chute. It is highly desirable that t-he'pilot chute be so vdisposed in the pack that its shroud lines or other elements therepermit the eyelet to slip over the stud or button 13 before the flap 2 is folded inwardly. Then in making up the pack, after the main parachute has been folded as indicated at 30 in Fig. 3, the flap 2-with its auxiliary flap, 28, is folded across the top of the main parachute, the pilotvparachute, 31, is laid upon the auxiliary flap 28, and the free end of the auxiliary flap is then folded back and engaged with-the button or stud, l3, as indicated in Fig. 3. The pilot parachute is therefore held in a sling or loop as a separate distinct unit and, whenthe pack is opened, the pilot parachute will always be foundready to emerge instantly.

I claim:

1. A container or cover for a parachute made of a flexible'fabric and comprising a rectangular portion and flaps at the sides and ends of the said rectangular portion, and a wire frame co-extensive with and secured to said rectangular portion.

2. A container or cover for a parachute made of a flexible fabric and comprising a central portion and ,flaps at the periphery of saidcentral portion, and a wire frame co-extensive with and secured to said central portion.

3. A container orlcover for a parachute made of a flexible fabric and comprising a central. portion andflaps at the edges of said central portion, a flexible piece coextensive with and secured at its edges to said central portion so as to form a pocket, and a stiffening frame in said pocket.

. 4. A container or cover for a parachute made of a flexible fabric and comprising a central portion and flaps at the edges of said central portion, a flexible piece coextensive-with and secured at its edges to saidcentral portion so as to form'a. pocket,

and a' stiffening frame in said pocket, said flexible piece having an openingthrough the same to permit the insertion of articles into sald pocket.

5. A container or cover for a parachute having closing flaps, one of flaps having at the end thereof an auxiliary flap, and means for detachably connecting the free end of the auxiliary flapto the flap with which the auxiliary flap is associated.

6. A container or cover for a parachute hav ng two flaps adapted to be folded inwardly and overlap each other at their -meeti ng edges, one of said flaps having thereon a stud and the other having an eye adapted to engage said stud, and an auxiliary flap attached at oneend to the end of one of the aforesaid flaps, said auxiliary flap having near the end thereof an eye adapted to be engaged with said stud when the auxiliary flap is folded upon itself underneath the other two flaps.

7. In combination, a main parachute having a pilot parachute, a container or cover for said parachutes provided with cooperating flap adapted to be folded over the parachutes when the latter are in the 0011- tainer, means for detachably securing the aforesaid flaps together, and an extension on one of said flaps adapted to extend underneath the opposite flap. and between the pilot chute and the main parachute.

8. A container or cover for a parachute provided with a plurality of flaps adapted to be folded inwardly and overlap each other at their free ends, a row of detachable fastening means adapted to secure the overlapping ends of the flaps together, one of said flaps having a guard flap attached thereto in position to be folded ,over said fastening means, and means for detachably holding said guard flap in the aforesaid position.

9. A container or cover for a parachute provided with a plurality of flaps adapted to be folded inwardly and overlap each other at their free ends, a row of detachable fastening means adapted to secure the overlapping ends of the flaps together, one of said flaps having a guard flap attached thereto in position to be folded over said fastening means, means for detachably holding said guard flap in the aforesaid position, and a stiffening strip of metal extending throughout that portion of the guard flap which is adapted to overlie the aforesaid fastening means.

In testimony. whereof, I sign this specification.

FLOYD SMITH. 

